In Love With A Werewolf
by MoonysGirl4Life
Summary: Natalie McBain has been in love with Remus Lupin since her 1st year, but what happens when he starts to feel the same way about her, and she doesn't know it? And what will she think when she finds out his secret? Can she be in love with a werewolf?
1. Chapter 1: Reunion

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own anything except for the OC's and the plot. It's sad, I know, how I would love to own the Marauders, (minus Peter, of course).**

**Authors Note: The first chapter is mainly an introduction, giving the characters descriptions and some background information on them. The next chapter will be much better, I promise!**

**Chapter 1: Reunion**

As they waved goodbye to their mothers, Natalie McBain and Carla Chenzo stepped through the barrier between platforms nine and ten, and arrived on platform nine and three-quarters. Natalie had dark brown hair with maroon highlights, which fell right on her shoulders. She had beautiful dark brown eyes to match her hair, which hid her painful life from the rest of the world. She was the average height for a girl her age of sixteen, even though she felt as if she was shorter than everyone she came across, especially when it came to boys. Natalie was an easygoing person, however she was able to become angry with someone over the smallest things, but was quick to reconcile because she knew that she overreacts. She was also a very emotional person, but hid it well from her friends, since she did not like letting other people know what she was really feeling. Carla was just the opposite. She hardly ever got upset with anyone and was usually the peacemaker between her friends when they fought. Whenever she did get angry with anyone, she told the person why to his or her face and worked through the problem. Natalie couldn't remember once seeing Carla overreact to a situation or become emotional. Although she was very smart and knows just about everything there is to know, she had a very short attention span and usually changed topics unintentionally. She had very long and wavy light brown hair that fell far below her shoulders and hazel, catlike eyes. She however, was taller than Natalie and had much longer legs, which allowed her to walk much faster than Natalie, forcing her to practically jog just to keep up with her. Both girls were athletic since they were on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Natalie was the Keeper, and Carla was a Chaser. For them, nothing else in the world existed when it was time for Quidditch. But no matter how much Natalie tried, she would never be as fast on her feet as Carla was.

They scanned the hoard of students searching for their other two friends, Allison Star, and Lily Evans. Spotting Lily's red hair almost immediately, they ran over to her. Lily was also around average height, and like Natalie, had a very quick temper. However, when arguing with Lily, you were more likely to walk away with either a bruise or a large red handprint depending on the situation. She had long, stunning red hair that came down to the middle of her back and had the most amazing green eyes that most people had ever seen. Not a moment later, Allison walked up, looking very happy to have found her friends. Allison was the only person that Natalie did not feel short around. She was about three inches shorter than the others and had long, slightly curly, blonde hair and bright blue, round eyes. She was usually always seen with a smile on her face, no matter what the circumstance.

The girls all hugged, and made their way towards the Hogwarts Express. Natalie and Carla had known each other since they were six years old. They met when Natalie moved from America to England. The two girls lived right next door to one another and were inseparable. Both girls were shocked to find out that they had both been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They had met Lily and Allison on their first train ride to the school, and to their luck, were all sorted into Gryffindor. Now in their sixth year of school, they were still the best of friends. Once on the train, they found an empty compartment and began to put their trunks into the storage overhead, when four very mischievous looking boys all conglomerated into their compartment. They were also in their sixth year and in Gryffindor. The girls had been somewhat friendly with the boys since their first year as well.

The boys were known as the Marauders, because they were the biggest troublemakers in the entire school. The four of them even had nicknames for each other, which the girls had no clue what they stood for. Whenever they would ask they either responded with an "it's none of you business" type of answer, or they would just change the subject quickly and awkwardly. They boy in front, James Potter, also known as Prongs, was very good looking. He wore thin-framed glasses with hazel eyes behind them and had jet-black hair, which was a little untidy because he was always trying to mess it up. He also played Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Very arrogant and overly confident in himself, he was always chasing after Lily and begging her to go out with him. Even though he could probably get any girl he wanted because of his good looks and skills on the Quidditch field, he only wanted Lily.

Right behind James, was Sirius Black, who was called Padfoot by his friends. He was the definition of tall, dark, and handsome. With his long black hair, light gray eyes, sense of humor, and attractiveness, he had almost every girl in the school trying to win over his affections. Sirius was known for dating his share of girls…actually…a lot of people's shares of girls. You could automatically tell that he was up to no good just by looking at him because of his sly, devilish grin. Even though he played Beater on the Quidditch team, he was usually too busy flirting with the girls in the stands or on the other team to pay attention to the game.

Next to walk into the compartment, was Peter Pettigrew, known as Wormtail to his friends. He was most unlike the other boys. He was little bit shorter than Allison and had a very round stomach. He had very large, watery, light brown eyes, a very chubby face, and was rarely seen without food in his mouth. He was a follower if there ever was one, and he seemed as if he sat on the edge of his seat just waiting for the next joke to come out of his friends mouths. He was too thick headed to notice that the jokes were usually aimed towards him.

Finally, the last boy to walk into the compartment was Remus Lupin, also called Moony. He was much quieter than the others, and definitely much more respectful to his peers and teachers. He was one of the top students in the class and usually always had a book in his hand, as he loved to read. At times he could also be seen writing what looked like poems, in a book he had. None of the girls knew what was written in it exactly, but no one bothered to ask, for fear of hitting a touchy subject. He was exceedingly handsome with his sandy brown hair and dazzling blue eyes. He didn't have chiseled features like James and Sirius, but his warm smile and caring, but slightly pained eyes were enough to make girls' hearts melt. Few did however. He was normally overlooked because of his quiet nature. Natalie was the only girl that actually looked at him differently. She was also the only one who saw the small, almost unnoticeable scars that he had on his hands and face. She was constantly staring at him when he wasn't looking. Being madly in love with him since her first year at school, Natalie felt as if she knew him so well. Not only was he one of her closest friends, other than the girls, she practically studied him in her free time, but he always seemed like he was hiding something from the girls that only the Marauders knew about.

Natalie, who was very capable of hiding her feelings, hid hers for Remus very well. No one, especially Remus, had any idea how she felt, and she liked to keep it that way. Lily and Carla, however, were not so discrete when it came to James and Sirius. Although she outwardly despised James, it was clear to the rest of the girls that she had feelings for him. They never brought this up to her of course because they didn't feel like witnessing one of her temper tantrums. Sirius was always flirting with Carla and asking her out, but she was always refusing him. On the other hand, Carla was very open, to the girls, about how she felt for Sirius. Unfortunately, she never had the courage to tell him due to his many, many short-term girlfriends and dates. Allison, on the other hand, was the female equivalent to Sirius. She enjoyed not being tied down to one person and going out with many boys, usually all at the same time. The girls were pretty good students, except for Natalie, who had trouble with potions. They hardly ever got into any sort of trouble and were well liked by the teachers, unlike the boys. When the boys bounded into the girls' compartment, James ran straight for Lily and greeted her very anxiously.

"Hey Evans! Are you ready to finally be mine this year?" he said, sounding much too hopeful. She glared at him.

"Potter, go get stung by a Blast-Ended-Skrewt," she said coolly, as if this was a normal, everyday routine, (which it was). Everyone, excluding James and Lily, couldn't help but laugh. Lily and James have spoken to each other like this since their first year at school.

"Great," James said enthusiastically, "so I guess that means we're on for Saturday?"

"In your dreams Potter," Lily responded quickly.

"Alright," replied James, "in that case I guess I will meet you around 11pm." Lily continued to stare at him as Sirius let out a bark of laughter at this statement. Peter, Carla, and Allison chuckled quietly, although from the look on Peter's face, it didn't seem like he understood why everyone was laughing and just went along with the crowd. Remus and Natalie on the other hand, shook their heads simultaneously, looked at each other, and as if they were reading each other's minds, both thought to themselves, '_When are those two going to get a clue?_' Remus, still looking amused by the obliviousness of James and Lily, took his usual seat by the window and pulled out a book so he could entertain himself during the ride. Sirius sat down right next to him, with Carla on his right, and Peter on her right. On the opposite side, Allison sat closest to the door, with James on her left, and Lily on his other side. Natalie, who was still standing, had not taken her eyes of Remus since they met his after James' joke. When the train began to move suddenly, Natalie was caught of guard and lost her balance, causing her to fall right in Remus' lap.

"Sorry," she said innocently to Remus as she went to stand back up, blushing wildly.

"No problem," he said, as if it was no big deal. "I'm just glad I was here and not James," he said, glancing over at James, was talking intently with Lily. "He is in such a trance right now, he wouldn't have even known you fell on him," he said with a sweet laugh. "Even Sirius would notice if a pretty girl fell in his lap." Natalie's face turned a deeper shade of red when Remus said this. She couldn't help but notice that he had called her pretty. When she finally sat down opposite him, she glanced at Remus, and noticed that his face was also a lot redder than its usual color. She looked around at her other friends, thankful that all of them were too deep in their conversations to notice what had just gone on. She took one more look at Remus, who was now behind his book. With a quiet sigh of relief, she leaned her head on the corner between the seat and the window, and began to fall asleep, thinking how wonderful this year was going to be.

**So, what did you think? Let me know in a review. All criticisim is accepted. I also wont update until I get some reviews, so please let me know how you like the story. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2: A Not So Dreamless Sleep

**Disclaimer: Nope, I still dont own anything you recognize from JKR's books. I think I'm going to cry again...sheds tear**

**Chapter 2: A Not So Dreamless Sleep**

Natalie was having a wonderful dream about Remus. He was telling her how much he loved her and she was telling him how she's been in love with him since first year. That was the last thing she remembered as she started to drift back into reality. As Natalie began to wake up, she decided to keep her eyes closed and try to fall back asleep. For some reason, however, she had a feeling as if she was being watched. She opened her eyes, and realized that everyone in the compartment, except for Peter, who was too busy eating pumpkin pasties, was looking at her very strangely. Lily, Carla, and Allison all had confused looks on their faces, whereas James and Sirius looked as if they were going to burst out laughing at any moment. She looked straight ahead to see Remus' face turning bright red. A little confused, and startled by the fact she was being watched while she slept, she jumped up in her seat quickly.

"What?" she said, having no clue why they were all looking at her, "why are you all staring at me? I don't know how you guys would feel about it, but I find it a little bit creepy." At that, James and Sirius could no longer contain their laughter. James looked as if he were going to cry because of how much he was laughing. Sirius let out such a laugh that could have been heard throughout the entire train. Peter, realizing what James and Sirius were doing, began to laugh along as he ate; still unaware of what had happened, just as Natalie was. Carla and Allison now looked as though they were also trying extremely hard to not laugh. She looked to her left to ask Lily what was going on. Lily had a small smile on her face. Before Natalie could ask, Lily jumped out of her seat.

"Umm…Natalie, Carla, Allison, I think its time that we go change into our robes," Lily said, pulling Natalie out of her seat before she had time to make her legs move. She dragged Natalie out of the compartment and down to the bathroom, closely followed by Carla and Allison. When they got to the bathroom, the three girls just stared at Natalie as if they were waiting for her to confess something to them. Carla was the first one to speak.

"So…did you sleep well?" she said letting out a tiny giggle. Allison was still holding in her laughter, even though she looked as if she wouldn't be able to for much longer. Natalie was even more confused now.

"Ok you guys, what is going on? Why were you all staring at me like that, and what is with the laughing?" At that point, Allison could no longer take it, she, just like the boys, began laughing hysterically. Seeing the perplexed look on Natalie's face, Lily finally decided that she should know.

"Natty, what were you dreaming about?" she said, trying to suppress her giggles.

"Nothing, just being back at school, why?" She realized after she said it, that she was trying to sound too innocent. She hated having to lie to her best friends like that.

"Are you sure? Because that's not what we heard." Natalie was really starting to get annoyed now. This was very unlike Lily, who usually came out and told things just as they were, but now she was just avoiding answering Natalie's questions.

"Well what did you hear?" said Natalie. Lily saw that Natalie was starting to get mad, so she decided she must tell her.

"Well…umm…well, first you said 'Remus,' which made us all a little confused, naturally. Then you said 'I love you too,' right before you woke up and found us all staring at you. That's why Remus was blushing and everyone else laughing." Natalie couldn't believe it, '_Oh no, did I actually talk in my sleep? This isn't good, now Remus knows how I feel,_' she thought to herself. She could feel a worried look come across her face, but before she could get rid of it, Carla and Lily had already seen it. They now had a joyous look on their faces.

"Merlin! Its true!" Carla said, with a big wide smile. She, Lily, and Allison all came running over to hug her in their fit of giggles. Natalie was able to squirm out of their arms, then walked over to the wall, and sat down on the floor leaning on it. She pulled her knees up to her stomach and looked as if she were about to cry, which was something she tried never to do in front of her friends. Lily was the first to notice the look on Natalie's face and sat down next to her. Although she tried to hold them back, tears began to roll down Natalie's face. Lily gave her a hug, she felt truly sorry for her.

"Natty," Carla said, "if you don't want us to, we promise we wont tell anyone, if anyone asks, we will just say that you had a dream that Remus was missing and you and all of us were looking for him, and then your dream changed to one where you were talking to your dad and telling him that you loved him, is that alright?" Natalie had known Carla since they were six years old. She knew that Carla would never lie to her, just like she knew that Lily wouldn't either. She had a bad felling about Allison, who on the other hand, was known for telling secrets, but she decided to trust her. She nodded her head anyway and she and Lily stood up. The four girls pulled on their robes, left the bathroom, and headed back to the compartment.

As the girls were walking back, they noticed a boy walking in their direction. He was tall, pale, and had very black greasy hair that hung down in his face covering almost all of his dark beady eyes. His hair came down to about where his large, hooked nose was. His name was Severus Snape. Also in his sixth year, Severus was in the Slytherin house, and he absolutely despised anyone who wasn't, especially the Marauders and their friends. As he walked passed them, Natalie accidentally bumped into his arm.

"Sorry," she said with a slight tone of fear in her voice, noticeable only to herself.

"Watch where you're walking you filthy mu—"

"Yes Snivellus? What were you going to say?" Remus said as he was stepping out of their compartment with James, Sirius, and Peter, who all had their wands out and were ready to attack if need be.

"Yea Snivelly, do tell us, we are always so intrigued by what you have to say," said Sirius, looking rather mischievous because of his usual smirk. Severus looked around and noticed that now the girls were griping their wands in case they needed them. He must have decided that he did not feel like getting hexed by eight people, so he just kept on walking back to his compartment.

"Thanks guys," Natalie said, blushing slightly when she looked at Remus.

"No problem," said Remus and Sirius in unison. Remus was now also turning red again, while Sirius began to flirt with Carla, who's face was now turning a dark shade of pink. Natalie was about to suggest that the boys go change into their robes, until she noticed that they already had. '_They must have done it when we were in the bathroom. How long were we in there for?_' she began wondering as she sat back down in her seat. Everyone else took their seats, and once again, Natalie noticed that people were staring at her, mainly James and Sirius.

"What do you guys want from my life?" she asked, trying hard to make it sound as though nothing had happened. Neither of the boys answered her. "Well, are you just going to stare, or are you going to tell me what it is you want?" At that, Sirius decided to finally answer her.

"We don't want anything. We still have about another three hours until we arrive, why don't you go back to sleep," James started hysterically laughing at Sirius' statement. Natalie turned a very dark shade of red. Feeling Remus gaze upon her, she decided it was better not to look at him.

"Why do you two have to be so immature?" Remus said, sounding as if he was quite embarrassed by what had gone on. Not liking the tone in Remus' voice, Sirius and James decided to be quite, and didn't bother her about the dream for the rest of the trip. Extremely happy that Remus had come to her rescue, she looked up at him and mouthed the words 'Thank you.' He gave a nod, which said your welcome, and she leaned her head back against the window, and once again began to drift off to sleep. Lily, noticing that Natalie was starting to doze off, tapped her on the shoulder a little harder than she needed to.

"Do you want to play chess?" she inquired. Natalie knew she was trying to keep her awake.

"Sure, I guess so," she replied.

"Remus, will you trade seats with me so we can play?" Lily asked him. Natalie was now sorry that she said yes. She wasn't sure if she wanted to thank Lily or scream at her. Remus nodded, and switched places with Lily. She pulled out her chess set, and the two girls put their knees together to allow to board to lie flat. After about twenty minutes, Remus suddenly jumped up out of his chair.

"I almost forgot, Lily, we are prefects, we are supposed to be patrolling the train and then go down into the prefects compartment!" Lily cleaned up the chess set immediately and stood up ready to leave "I guess we will see you guys when we get to school," he said, as he and Lily waved goodbye and left the compartment. Natalie couldn't help but notice a light pink tinge come over Remus' face when he looked at her. She still could not believe that she had spoke in her sleep.

About twenty minutes later, Lily and Remus walked back into the compartment. Lily sat down across from Natalie, obviously not wanting to sit next to James, which forced Remus to sit back down next to Natalie. Lily fell asleep the moment she sat down, causing Carla, who was about to ask her why she was back, to ask Remus instead.

"What happened? Why are you guys back so soon?" she asked, looking very confused.

"That annoying git Lucius Malfoy was made a prefect this year. Lily and I didn't feel like sharing a compartment with him, so we just patrolled around for a few minutes and then came back here."

"LUCIUS IS A PREFECT?" said James, looking shocked.

"I think it's time we go congratulate him," said Sirius with his devilish smile as he, James, and Peter stood up and left the compartment.

"You know what, I don't want to miss this," said Carla, as she and Allison stood up and followed them out. Now it was only Natalie, Remus, and a sleeping Lily left in the cart. Even though there was now a lot of room in the seat, Remus still sat very close to Natalie, which made her a little uneasy.

"So," he said, sounding a little nervous, "how was your summer?"

"Oh, it was good, I hung out with Carla mostly, since she lives next door to me. And then we all spent about a week at Lily's house, and now we are here. How was yours?" From the moment she asked the question, she regretted it. She knew that his family would never allow him to go to his friends during vacation, nor would they let his friends come there to often, only about once a month, which means he probably only had a good time two days out of the last two months.

"Oh, it was…alright," he sounded quite downhearted, which made Natalie feel horrible.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up," she replied, looking down at her feet.

"You shouldn't be," he said, "it's not your fault." After that they just sat in silence for a few minutes. Both of them wanted to talk about the same thing, but neither of them wanted to bring it up. Natalie then decided that she should do it while the others weren't around.

"Look…about what happened earlier, I w—" but he cut her off.

"Don't even worry about it," he said, as he looked at her sweetly and started to blush.

"No, look I was saying that stuff in my sleep because I w—" She was cut off again, but this time by James, Sirius, and Peter's laughter.

"That was just too good," James said as Sirius let out a bark like laugh. "He is so jealous of Sirius now."

"What happened?" Lily asked, who had apparently awoken when they charged into the compartment. Natalie hoped that she wasn't awake the entire time and just pretending to be asleep. Just as Lily asked, Carla and Allison walked in right behind Sirius, James, and Peter. Natalie had never seen Carla's face become such a dark shade of red, and she was trying desperately to not look Sirius in the eye. As she walked past, Sirius put his arm around her waist.

"Well, you know, Lucius kind of…has a thing for me," Carla started, only to have Sirius finish.

"Before we got there, we decided to try to make him jealous, so I put my arm around Carla, and made it look like we were going out. Lucius got so mad and started asking her how much I had paid her so that she would pretend to be my girlfriend, and to prove that we weren't lying…"

"Ok Sirius, that's enough now," Carla said, turning an even darker shade of red, if that was possible. But Sirius just kept on talking.

"She kissed me," he said, letting out another bark like laugh. "She actually kissed me…"

"…And it wasn't just a peck on the cheek," Allison said, "She got really into it." Natalie felt horrible for her, she was so embarrassed. However, she couldn't help feeling relieved that the heat was finally taken off her. 

Everyone else appeared to have the same idea she had, because as she was leaning her head back to go back to sleep, it appeared that everyone was doing the same thing, including Remus. '_As long as everyone is sleeping, they won't know if I say anything in my sleep,_' she thought, as she once again drifted off into dream world, only to wake up to something that startled her and the rest of her friends.

**So what did you guys think? Let me know in a review. You guys will probably like the next chapter...the train ride will finally end, and Natalie will awaken to a very pleasent surprise! Can you guess what it is? Tell me in a review!**


	3. Chapter 3: Bad Dreams And Twice Rescued

**Disclaimer: I still dont own what you recognize and I never will.**

Authors Note: This chapter a little shorter than my others...Actually, I think this is my shortest chapter yet...Well, I hope you enjoy it!

**Chapter 3: Bad Dreams and Twice Rescued**

"Natty, _Natty_" Lily was saying quietly in Natalie's ear. Natalie opened her eyes groggily. She looked around to see that everyone was still sleeping besides Lily and herself.

"What? Why are you waking me? Are we there yet?" she asked her, looking extremely confused. She was about to go back to sleep until Lily spoke again.

"Almost, but that's not why I woke you. Look next to you." She said with a very large smile. She looked to her left, too tired to move her head and her eyes still heavy with sleep. She was leaning on something, so she couldn't turn her head too far, however she didn't notice anything strange.

"What? There is nothing next to me. Why are you smiling?" She looked up and realized why Lily was smiling. Remus had his arm around her and she was leaning on his chest. She had to restrain herself from jumping up out of her seat. Trying to whisper, so she wouldn't wake the others, most importantly Remus, she said, "Lily, what do I do? How do I move without waking him?" She was starting to panic, when at that moment the conductor walked in, not realizing that everyone was sleeping.

"Ten minutes until we arrive," the conductor said. To her horror, this jolted everyone awake. As soon as she saw their eyes start to open, she closed hers and pretended to be asleep. She knew Remus had awoken, because she was able to feel him shift slightly, so not to wake her. Still 'sleeping,' she heard Sirius and James start talking to Remus.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here," Sirius said in a very suggestive manner. She could tell that Remus was starting to get a little nervous because she could feel his breathing begin to quicken. "It looks to me like something's been going on while we were all asleep."

"Remus, I always thought you were a gentlemen, but I guess I was wrong," said James, in mock disapproval.

"What is wrong with you guys, can you not see that she is sleeping," Remus said, sounding very hurt by James statement. When she heard his tone of voice, she decided it was best to 'wake up.' When she finally opened her eyes, she looked at Remus, making it seem as if she had no clue how she got in that position, which she really didn't. She looked up at him with a smile that said that she was both confused and well rested.

"Um…hi," she said as she began to move off of him. "I'm sorry, I must have moved in my sleep with out realizing." She realized after she said it that she couldn't have done that, since she wouldn't be able to put his arm around her in her sleep. He looked at her and smiled. She noticed that everyone else was getting up to get their trunks because the train was slowing down, much to her dismay. She secretly did not want the train ride to end.

"No, you didn't," he said, practically whispering so the others would not hear. "You were crying and sort of having a fit in your sleep, so I was just holding you until you calmed down, and once you did, I didn't really want to move you because you were sleeping so peacefully, so I let you lay there and I guess I fell asleep too." She didn't know if it was possible, but she felt as if she was more in love with him now than she had ever been. '_He is so sweet and considerate,_' she thought to herself, '_One day I'll get up the guts to ask him out._' She finally sat all the way up, and he took his arm back. She felt her face and found that she had in fact been crying. She tried to remember what she was dreaming about that made her cry, but couldn't. She took one more glance at Remus to see that he was once again blushing. The moment the train had pulled up at Hogsmeade station, the Marauders were out of their seats and ready to exit the train. The girls were taking an extremely long time to gather their belongings, so the boys told them that they would meet them inside and save them seats at their table in the Great Hall. As the girls began to head out the compartment, Natalie noticed that Carla, Lily, and Allison were all giving her a great big smile.

"You handled that really well," Carla said jokingly. "If I woke up with Sirius arm around me, I think I would have died of shock."

"You?" Lily jumped in suddenly. "If James would have pulled a stunt like that when I was sleeping, I think I would have break his broom over his head," she said, sounding both amused by the thought and serious at the same time. Natalie was the last of the group to get off the train. As she stepped down, her foot got caught on her robe. She would have fallen face first into the dirt, were it not for Remus' wonderful reflects. He was standing right by the door leading off of the train.

"That's twice in one day that I rescued you," he said smiling, "now you owe me double."

"How ever should I pay you?" she said, in her fake 'damsel in distress' tone.

"Well," Sirius said, walking up to the two of them. "I have an idea, you could..." he started, but Carla cut him off.

"Sirius Black, if you finish that sentence, I will break your arm off and feed it to a hippogriff," Carla said, sensing trouble the moment that she saw him walk over.

"Ok, relax, I'm not going to finish the sentence," he said as he winked at Remus, who was now staring down and shaking his head.

"Come on, let's go so we can get a carriage," Remus said, still looking down as the four of them walked towards the horseless carriages. She noticed that Lily and Allison had already gotten into one. Carla, who was walking ahead, joined them. But before Natalie could get in, Peter jumped into the carriage, plopping his large behind down right next to Allison. All three girls looked to Natalie as if to say they were sorry. She had never hated Peter more than she did now. Because of him, she would now have to share with James, Sirius, and Remus. Sharing with Remus wouldn't be so bad, but unfortunately, Sirius and James had to be there too. As she went to step into the carriage, Remus held her hand and said, "Ladies first."

"Well thank you dear sir," she replied in a very proper sounding tone, trying to hide the fact that her face had just turned scarlet. Remus stepped into the carriage next and sat down next to her, followed by James and Sirius, who took the seat opposite them.

"Aw, look at the two love birds," James said in a very childish voice. Sirius began to laugh like a madman once again, and Natalie looked down, too embarrassed to look at anyone, mainly Remus, in the face. "Look, she's turning bright red. I don't think I've ever seen that color on a human before," James said, causing Natalie to become even redder in the face. She was about to stand up, open the carriage door, and leave, but Remus lifted up her chin.

"You don't have to hide your face because of dumb and dumber over there. You keep your chin up so everyone could see those beautiful eyes." She could not have been happier at that moment. Even though James and Sirius were making kissing noises in her direction, she didn't care. She had just had the best, and worst, train ride of her life both at the same time.

The carriage finally pulled up to the school just as Sirius and James began to sing a song about Natalie and Remus. The two songbirds got out first, followed by Remus, who put his hand out for Natalie to help her down. "I don't want you to have to owe me triple," Remus said with a tiny, but sweet laugh. To Natalie's surprise, he didn't let go of her hand after she stepped down, but continued to hold it. She looked down at her hand and then looked back up at Remus, who smiled. "I don't want you to get separated from the group," he said, looking down at his feet, as Natalie's face grew hot. The four of them finally caught up with Carla, Lily, Allison, and Peter, and all eight of them walked towards the castle together.

The Hogwarts castle was the most wonderful thing that Natalie had ever seen in her entire life. With hundreds of candle lit windows, towers about a hundred feet up in the air, and large oak doors that stood about as high as two giants, it was magnificent to look at. Natalie couldn't help but think of all the good times she had had in that castle and all of the good times she would soon be having. Many of the students felt like they were just hear for another school year, but Natalie felt different, she felt as if she was finally home.

**Well, I hope you liked the chapter...If you did, leave a review...If you didnt, leave a review anyway and let me know why...I cant really tell you much about chapter four without giving anything away, but I can give you an excerpt:**

Chapter 4: Hidden Tears And Sliding Stairs  
"Natalie? Natalie wait I want to talk to you. Natalie!" he called after her, but she ignored him. At that moment, he put one foot on the stair to make the staircase turn into a slide, since boys were not allowed in the girls' rooms. Just before she was about to step on the landing at the top of the stairs, they turned into a slide, and she was forced back down, falling right on top of Remus.  
"What did you do that for?" she said, pushing him away from her as hard as she could. She went to walk back up the stairs, but they changed into a slide once again. She gave him another violent shove. "Stop it, leave me alone." She was in tears and trying to hide her face from the others. Her friends had already seen her cry once today and she didn't want them to see her do it again.  
"No, would you wait, I want to talk to you," Remus said, grabbing a hold of her arm. She never realized how strong he was until just then; she wasn't able to get out of his grip.  
"Well, I don't feel like talking so let go of me. Now!"


	4. Chapter 4: Hidden Tears, Sliding Stairs

**Chapter 4: Hidden Tears, Sliding  
Stairs**

The students all piled into the Great Hall for the start of term feast. Natalie, Carla, Lily, and Allison all sat down at the Gryffindor table with Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter sitting across from each of them. Once all of the older students were seated, Professor McGonnagal brought in the first years so they could be sorted into their houses so they could then join their tables. About five boys and five girls were sorted into Gryffindor. Once the sorting was over, the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, stood up to make his usual announcements. The moment he stood, the entire room was quiet with out him having to ask for silence.

"As you all know, I like to start off the term with a few important announcements…but they can wait. Tuck in!" At that moment, everyone began to pile food on to his or her plate. Sirius, James, and Peter ate their food at a disgusting rate that would have made any normal person sick to their stomach, as it was also sickening just to watch them eat. Remus, on the other hand, was eating one thing at a time, so he would not overeat to the point of exploding. He ate a lot, but much slower because he knew his limits. Allison ate almost as much as the boys, but not as fast. Carla and Lily took their time. Natalie on the other hand, ate very quickly because she was in a rush for the feast to end. She figured the sooner they were done eating, the sooner they would be able to go to their common room and be able to start off the year by enjoying the night with her best friends. Once the plates were finally cleaned off due to the very hungry students, Professor Dumbledore stood up once more.

"Now, first years students, as well as the others, should note that the Forbidden Forest is still forbidden…" Dumbledore said. The speech went on, with him reminding the students about what was allowed and not allowed in school. Natalie had heard speeches similar to this the past six years in a row. She knew almost the entire rulebook pretty well, so she decided to daydream instead of pay attention. She was thinking about the train ride and how Remus kept on saying things about her being pretty, like when she fell in his lap and when they were in the carriage. This was confusing her to the point of exhaustion because she didn't know if he meant it, or if he was just saying it to be nice. She had always had a crush on Remus, but she never seemed to be able to tell him how she felt. This was usual for her, since the only people that she was able to talk openly with were Carla, Lily, and Allison. '_Then again,_' she thought to herself, 'maybe I'm not that open with them, since I never told them of my feelings for Remus.' Just when her brain was hurting from thinking so much, she realized that Carla was waving her hand in front of her face trying to bring her back to reality.

"Miss McBain, are you going to return to earth anytime soon?" Carla said. Natalie quickly came out of her trance and received some odd looks from the others. She noticed that there were not too many people left in the Great Hall, and swiftly got up and followed her friends back to their common room.

"Hungarian Horntail," Remus said, as they stood in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady that led into their common room. They all took seats by the fire. Sirius, Carla, Lily, and James all sat on the couch. Peter took the armchair on the left side of the couch, and Remus took the one on the right. Natalie and Allison took two pillows from their dormitory and sat on the floor. All of the other Gryffindors went to bed right away except for a few 7th years, but after about 20 minutes, they also went to bed. Now it was just Natalie, Lily, Carla, Allison, and the Marauders left in the common room. They were all talking about ways that would be suitable to make Severus' life miserable when the one topic came up that Natalie had been trying to forget and most certainly did not want to talk about.

"So," Sirius said with a sly grin, "Natalie, you never told us, what were you dreaming about on the train that made you yell out Remus' name?" Sirius said, grinning. When Sirius said this, Natalie felt as if the floor had been taken out from under her and that she was falling down a never-ending hole. She had forgotten the story she had made up to tell them if anyone asked. Her face turned bright red. When she was about to say she didn't remember, Allison jumped up and decided to tell everyone.

"Oh, I know what, she dreamed that Remus—" Natalie had no clue what Allison was going to say, and forturnatley, she never found out because Lily cut her off.

"She was dreaming that Remus got abducted by dark wizards and all of us were looking for him, that's why she was saying his name." Thank Merlin for Lily, she knew Allison was going to spill the beans, and she was mentally smacking herself for having trusted her.

"Okay, but why did she say 'I love you too' after she said his name?" This time, it was James who spoke. Natalie knew right there that someone was going to tell her secret, until Carla rescued her.

"Her dream changed to one where she was talking to her dad and telling him that she loved him," Natalie was most grateful at that point for having such good friends. The only thing that upset her was the fact that they brought up the subject of her father to the group. Since he had died the previous year, it was still a very hard topic for her to discuss. The only ones who even knew about what happened were the girls, and she did not feel like sharing her whole life history with everyone else. She felt her eyes start to water up. Instead of crying in front of the people she was closest with, she decided to get up and go to her dorm, but she didn't go in, instead she stood by the door and listened to the conversation that was going on downstairs.

"Carla, why did you do that?" Lily said in a very angry tone.

"What did I do?" Carla replied sounding frightened of Lily, as most people are when she gets mad.

"You know that she doesn't like discussing her father, she gets upset whenever anyone brings him up, you of all people should know that," Lily said, trying not to talk to loud so Natalie wouldn't hear her, but was obviously not succeeding since she did.

"Why does she get upset when she talks about her father?" Remus asked sounding truly concerned. Natalie was on the verge of running back down the stairs and strangling Carla and Lily. '_How could they do this to me? They know I didn't want anybody else to know._' She was trying with all her might not to yell at them to shut up, but before she had the chance to, Lily was speaking once again.

"Her father passed away last September, almost a month after school started. Remember when she was gone for a whole week? She had to leave school to go to his funeral. And that's why she was so depressed for a few weeks when she came back." Natalie now felt that depression coming back. She had been trying not to think about that for the longest time, but now since it was being brought up, she had no choice.

"Are you serious?" she heard Remus say, sounding as if he were about to cry. "Why didn't she tell us?"

"She didn't really want to make a big deal about it, I don't think she really wanted to think about it," Carla told him. Natalie couldn't take it anymore, she ran down the stairs to get the pillow that she had left. They were all staring at her to see how she was going to react, but no one said anything. She grabbed the pillow and headed back to the stairs. She heard Remus get up to follow her.

"Natalie? Natalie wait I want to talk to you. Natalie!" he called after her, but she ignored him. At that moment, he put one foot on the stair to make the staircase turn into a slide, since boys were not allowed in the girls' rooms. Just before she was about to step on the landing at the top of the stairs, they turned into a slide, and she was forced back down, falling right on top of Remus.

"What did you do that for?" she said, pushing him away from her as hard as she could. She went to walk back up the stairs, but they changed into a slide once again. She gave him another violent shove. "Stop it, leave me alone." She was in tears and trying to hide her face from the others. Her friends had already seen her cry once today and she didn't want them to see her do it again.

"No, would you wait, I want to talk to you," Remus said, grabbing a hold of her arm. She never realized how strong he was until just then; she wasn't able to get out of his grip.

"Well, I don't feel like talking so let go of me. Now!" she screamed at him. She didn't know what else to do, so she pulled out her wand. Thinking she was going to stun him, he let go of her. Instead of attacking him, she summoned her broom so she wouldn't fall down the stairs again. "Accio Broom!" she yelled. Her broom came zooming out of her dorm. She caught it, hopped on, and sped up to her room, leaving a very bewildered Remus standing at the foot of the stairs. Natalie quickly got into her nightgown and climbed into her four-poster. She heard Allison, Carla, and Lily come into the room. She closed her curtains so she wouldn't have to talk to them. Unfortunately, the curtains did not lock. Lily pulled them open so quickly, that they almost fell off.

"What on earth was that about? Remus, the man who you have been in love with since first year, was trying to talk to you, and you scream at him. Why would you do something like that?" Lily said, sounding livid.

"You're the ones that belong giving me the explanations. How could you guys do that to me, you knew I didn't want them to know about my father, and yet you told them anyway, after you swore you wouldn't, I have every reason to be angry. It wasn't their business!" Natalie was now in a fit of hysterics. She didn't know whether to cry or scream.

"How did you know what we were talking about?" Lily asked sounding confused. "You were up here!"

"No, I wasn't, I was standing at the top of the stairs listening to what you told them, trying to make sure that Allison didn't say anything foolish like she was about to do before you guys interrupted her." All she could think about right now was hexing her friends so bad that they wouldn't be able to sit for a month.

"Look, we never would have had to tell them about him if you hadn't caused a scene by running out of the room. You're the one that said to tell anyone who asked about the dream that you were dreaming about your father. So you caused this mess, not us. We were trying to save you from having Remus finding out that you fancied him. So don't go getting mad at us for trying to do you a favor, because the next time you need one, we just might not help you." At that point, Lily closed the curtains with as much force, if not more, than she had opened them with.

Natalie just lie in her bed, thinking for about an hour. '_She's right, if I wouldn't have stormed out and made a scene like that, none of this would have ever happened. Now I just screwed up my friendships and my shot with Remus, I might as well just leave school,_' she thought to herself. She was going to get up and pack to leave when she realized that it would be worse going home than staying here, so she put the thought out of her mind. She left the dorm and went to sit on the couch by the fire in the common room. She conjured up a hot chocolate and sipped it quietly, while reflecting on the evening, not knowing there was someone else in the room with her.

**Well, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. The next chapter is one of my favorites for reasonse you will discover soon, I hope. Once again, cant get too much into detail about the next chapter, but here is an excerpt:**

Chapter 5: Compromising Positions  
...She had no clue how long they were kissing for until all of a sudden, she heard a creak on the stairs. They both looked up; it was Lily. She raised her eyebrow, and a grin broke out on to her face.  
"I think I will leave you two alone, sorry for disturbing you. Oh and Natty, you should really come up soon, its already 2 o'clock in the morning," she said on her way back up to the girls dormitories. They both sat up awkwardly, aware of what they were doing for the first time. Natalie had never been more uncomfortable. That was the first time she had ever kissed anyone like that, yet somehow, she knew exactly what to do, like it was instinct. She prayed he would say something. She did not want to be the first one to talk. Thankfully, he did.


	5. Chapter 5: Compromising Positions

**Disclaimer: Do I really need to say it again? I guess so, I DONT OWN IT! Thanks for making me upset now lol...Just kidding.**

Authors Note: Like I said before, this is one of my favorite chapters for reasons you will soon see...This is another angsty chapter...hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 5: Compromising Positions**

As she was drinking her hot chocolate, Remus, who had been in the room with her the whole time, walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She was so startled, that she spilled her hot chocolate all over her and pulled out her wand, ready to attack.

"Oh, its only you. I was scared half to death, don't ever sneak up on me like that again," she said, her voice still shaky from being frightened.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said, with a look of concern on his face. She completely forgot what had happened just a little while ago. Staring into his eyes was like being hypnotized; she completely lost her train of thought. She finally came out of her trance, realizing that she was staring at him for too long. She noticed that her chest and legs were burning so she looked down; she had spilled the hot chocolate all over herself. She was glad because this gave her a chance to leave the common room to go change.

"I should go upstairs and change," she said, feeling very embarrassed for not knowing she had scalding hot chocolate all over her.

"Oh no, you don't need to. Scorgify! Better?" She looked down, and the hot chocolate was completely gone. Her body was still burning, but she just nodded her head.

"That was brilliant, I really have to remember that one," she said, sitting back down on the couch. He was looking at her deeply, when she finally remembered what had gone on no more than an hour ago. She felt very foolish for the way she acted. "Look, I'm really sorry for the way I behaved earlier, it was a very childish thing to do, and I—"

"Natalie, I'm not mad at you, I understand why you were upset. If anyone should be sorry, it should be me. I should not have tried to make you talk about it when you really didn't want to, and for that I apologize." Natalie just stared at him, it was amazing how just an hour ago, she was so mad at him to the point of never speaking to him again, but now he was apologizing to her, when he didn't really even do anything wrong. "Natty, I'm just concerned about you, and frankly, I'm a little hurt." She liked hearing Remus use her nickname. "How come you never told me about your father? I thought we were close, you know you can always tell me anything, right?" She couldn't speak, so she just nodded her head not looking at him. She felt her eyes begin to water up. "So will you tell me what happened, so maybe I can understand?" She nodded her head once again, she was afraid that if she opened her mouth to speak, no words would come out. But finally, she began to talk.

"Well, he was on his way home from work. He was driving and it was dark out, he was coming to an intersection, when a drunken man driving a truck was coming towards him. He was going way over the speed limit, and before my dad could get out of the way, the truck slammed right into his car. He died on the way to the hospital." It was very hard for her to tell him this, she had never told anyone this but the girls. Tears were now streaming from her eyes. She tried with all her might to stop them, but couldn't. She was feeling so many emotions at once, that they had no way to come out except for her eyes. She just continued to stare down.

"Natalie, I'm so sorry, I had no idea. Couldn't they have used a spell or something to save him?" he asked her. He sounded like he was crying, but she could not look up at him, she just shook her head.

"No, my parents are both muggles, there was nothing that could be done." She could not believe that she was telling him all of this. That was the last thing in the world she wanted to do, but now once she started, she wasn't able to stop. "It's not fair, it wasn't his time to go, he should still be here. I need him to still be here. How could he have left me like that?" She was hysterical crying now, there was no going back, everything she had been feeling for the last year was released. It felt good to finally get it off of her chest, until she realized that she was pouring her heart and soul out to Remus. She turned all the way around so she wouldn't have to face him. She hated crying in front of anyone, and right now she hated herself even more for crying in front of the man she had been in love with for the past six years. He moved closer to her, grabbed her by the shoulders, and turned her around. He pulled her into the tightest hug she ever had. Once she was in his arms, she felt safe, safer than she had ever felt in her whole life. As long as he was holding her, her life would be all right.

Remus just held her, slowly rocking her back and forth, trying to help her relax, as if he were trying to put a small child to sleep. She finally began to calm down. Her tears slowly stopped, but she did not want Remus to let go of her. He seemed to know this, since he was still holding onto her. She began to feel drowsy because of how much she was crying. Before she even realized what she was doing, she pulled away from him slowly. She looked up at him for the first time since she spilled the hot chocolate on herself. The look in his eyes was not one of pity; it was one of compassion, and true understanding. It was as if every single thing that she was feeling, he was feeling as well, everything she thought, he thought. Before she could stop herself, she leaned in to kiss him, and to her surprise, he did not stop her, instead, he kissed her back. The moment their lips met, she felt a shiver go all the way down her spine. She suddenly felt so calm and serene, that she never wanted their lips to separate. The kiss became deeper and deeper, to the point where they were laying on the couch with him on top of her. She had no clue how long they were kissing for until all of a sudden, she heard a creak on the stairs. They both looked up; it was Lily. She raised her eyebrow, and a grin broke out on to her face.

"I think I will leave you two alone, sorry for disturbing you. Oh and Natty, you should really come up soon, its already 2 o'clock in the morning," she said on her way back up to the girls dormitories. They both sat up awkwardly, aware of what they were doing for the first time. Natalie had never been more uncomfortable. That was the first time she had ever kissed anyone like that, yet somehow, she knew exactly what to do, like it was instinct. She prayed he would say something. She did not want to be the first one to talk. Thankfully, he did.

"Maybe we should go to our rooms, classes start tomorrow and I don't think it would be a good idea to start off the term by falling asleep in class," he said, sounding a little out of breath. She couldn't blame him; she didn't even know how long they were kissing with out coming up for air. She nodded her head, trying to avoid making eye contact.

"You're right, its time we went to sleep," she said, feeling both disappointed and relieved. She stood up and headed for the stairs leading towards the girls' dormitories. Before she got to far, he seized her arm, and pulled her back to him, giving her one more kiss goodnight. It seemed like they were kissing forever, but they slowly pulled apart.

"Goodnight! Sweet dreams!" he said, giving her one more kiss on the cheek. She then walked up the stairs to her room. She never felt more refreshed and alive in her entire life. She couldn't help but think how this day had gone from horrible to wonderful twice. When she walked into the room, she noticed Lily sitting up in her bed, waiting for her to come in.

"So," she said, sounding very smug, "have fun?" Natalie could tell by the tone in her voice that Lily was still angry with her for the way she acted. Natalie walked right up to her bed and gave her a hug.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry," she said, her evening had gone from horrible to wonderful. She didn't know what else to say to Lily. She felt extremely sorry for the way she acted towards her.

"So, you guys seemed to be in a very…um…compromising position when I walked in," she whispered, not wanting to wake anyone else. "How did it happen? What did you guys say to each other? Are you guys a couple now?"

"Slow down, I can only answer one question at a time," Natalie wailed, a little too loudly because now Carla was awake.

"What's going on, it's two in the morning, why are you guys yelling?" she said groggily.

"Natalie and Remus were snogging in the common room a few minutes ago." The moment the words came out of Lily's mouth, Carla was wide-awake and sitting on Lily's bed waiting to hear the whole story. Before she told them anything, they all climbed onto the bed, closed the curtain, and put a silencing charm up so no one else would wake up. Natalie quickly gave them all of the details. They all looked truly happy for her.

"I can not believe that you guys finally got together. This is the best thing that could have ever happened." Carla said, sounding very cheery. "So what are you guys going to do? Are you guys going to be a couple?" Natalie didn't know how to answer this, since she wasn't sure herself. '_Are we going to be together? Does he feel the same way I feel, or was he just taking advantage of the situation? Are we just going to pretend it never happened?_' She began to get a headache because of all the questions she was asking herself. She didn't know how things were going to be between them.

"I don't know what's going to be, it was just a spur of the moment thing, I don't even know if he has feelings for me." No sooner had the words left her mouth, than she wished they were true. '_It was too perfect,' she thought, 'I know that he must feel something_.' She was really tired now and wanted to go to sleep. She said goodnight to her friends, and went back into her four-poster. Carla went back into her own bed as well. Natalie closed her curtains and lied down on her bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying the kiss over and over in her brain. '_He does feel something, I know he does_,' was the last thing she said to herself before finally falling asleep.

**Well, I hope you enjoyed it...I know I wouldn't mind kissing Remus in a deserted common room...smacks self in head no, must think pure thoughts...Well, anyway, here's the excerpt from chapter 6!**

Chapter 6: Regrets And Schedule Complications  
"Don't cry," she told herself out loud, "do not cry, you don't want to go down there crying, so don't do it." She was able to hold back her tears as she walked into the Great Hall. She spotted Lily sitting across from Carla and ran over to sit with them.  
"So, what happened?" Lily asked sounding excited. Just like last night, Natalie gave them every detail. Lily and Carla just stared at her dumbfounded. They didn't know what to make of the situation.


End file.
